Lefty, I too have several No. 5 Jungle Carbines, but try and buy one today for what you and I paid way back when. Also , as I am sure you are aware, when you fire one repeatedly and it heats up, the zero will often "wander". That being said, they are neat rifles. The comment was made earlier about using Milsurps and while they will work, I think that going out today and buying anything that would kind of work will cost more than you might think. Several come to mind , ie. Spanish FR-8's, Russian Nagant carbines, Carcano carbines, and even some of the Yugo's . You will still have several hundred dollars invested and be no where near as good as the Ruger. As far as the magazine of the Ruger, it is an AI and fully compatible with many of the current custom precision rifles on the market which is a big plus for those of us who use them as well. The Ruger rep. in our area is a personal friend and with discussing the choice of the AI mag for the rifle their reasoning was all available mags were of the same type and quality with no others available. Therefore any problems with after market mags were eliminated, and the gun would not be at fault for the end user using out of spec after market mags. I have had custom scouts built for the last 20 or 25 years and I can say without a doubt, the Ruger is the absolute best buy on the market for this type of rifle. All my very best to one of the best holster makers going. Joe.
Hey Joe;
It's a strange thing for me to admit, but as I've grown longer in the tooth, I'm more reluctant to jump on the bandwagon. I agree the Scout concept is a good one. Ruger's interpretation of that concept is well executed and for an out of the box variation, seems to be quite suitable. "Wandering zero" on the #5's was a valid issue of concern for rapidly sustained fire (combat) at distances over 100 yards. In my experience and with my particular rifles, it is no issue whatsoever, since I'm not defending against hordes of zombies. More likely though, either game or paper monsters.
Some time ago, I liquidated a significant portion of my long gun collection. After much agonizing, I reasoned that I should concentrate my interests based upon ammunition. I found that I had so much .303, 30.06, .30, .22 ammunition, it justified little else. I know it sounds screwy, but what the hell, it is more than I could burn up in another lifetime.
So now I look for rifles (or scatterguns and handguns) that suit my needs in chamberings I have on hand. I confess that I am very biased toward the S.M.L.E., M1-A1 Garand, M1 Carbine and the venerable 1903-A3 bolt rifles, any of which could be formatted to the Scout concept design with minor effort by any competent gunsmith or advanced amateur gunsmith. In the interest of fairness, there are many other milsurp rifles, now considered in antiquity, that could do the same, as other posters have cited so I won't repeat it.
If I were 25 or 35 years old, had no significant accumulation of specific ammo, I'd march out and buy Scouts cause' they were a good idea in their early incarnations and they remain so today. I'd attest to the #5 SMLE as a candidate without reservation as a bargain. The .308 is an excellent cartridge.....but I don't have 5K rounds in storage!
Thanks for your very kind remarks. God bless.
Cheers;
Lefty
